Forsaken Cave lies roughly halfway between Windhelm and Dawnstar, just north of Bronze Water Cave and east of the Nightgate Inn. A frosty cave leads into the Forsaken Crypt, a Nordic burial chamber with all the usual traps. Its most famous resident is the master alchemist Curalmil, who was buried here with his life’s work: the White Phial.
What you’ll find
- At the cave entrance, depending on your level: a snow bear, a snowy sabre cat, or pairs of ice wolves, frost trolls or ice wraiths.
- Leveled draugr (or frost trolls) through the crypt.
- Forsaken Crypt: essentially two rooms, one spread over three levels with stairs, corridors and burial niches.
- The final room with the Word Wall, where Curalmil and a handful of draugr ambush you.
- Below the wall, a corridor and a small room with an empty bowl. Pour Nurelion’s mixture into it to open the hidden phial chamber, packed with alchemy ingredients and an alchemy lab.
- An iron door in the corner (follow the left wall before the stairs up to the Word Wall) that loops back to the entrance cave.
Quests
- The White Phial – the main reason to come here.
- Find Ring of Pure Mixtures – the ring may turn up here.
- Radiant quests that can point here: Shalidor’s Insights, Salty Sea-Dogs, The Break of Dawn, Lost Relic (Dawnguard) and Wind and Sand.
Notable items
- Cracked White Phial on a pedestal in the phial chamber.
- A Game at Dinner (Alchemy) in the phial chamber, and The Mirror (Block) on a stone table in the burial halls.
- Word Wall: Marked for Death.
- Possible Meridia’s Beacon or Fine-Cut Void Salts in the main chamber’s loot chest.
Tips
No Nurelion’s mixture yet? Players report you can nudge through the hidden door by pushing a wooden plate into it – bring at least two, one to get in and one to get out. On return visits for radiant quests, the shortcut from the entry room to the Word Wall room stays open, so skip the scenic route. Bonus trick: the three draugr niches stay sealed if you take the shortcut, which means fire runes cast across their alcoves hurt them while they can’t hit back. Rude, but effective.
Good to know
The Headless Horseman rides here from Anga’s Mill, and a dragon burial mound sits nearby. If you return for another quest, Curalmil is replaced by a draugr deathlord, death overlord or a dragon priest.
Nearby
Closest places covered on TamrielSaga: Yorgrim Overlook, Bronze Water Cave, Great Lift at Alftand, Nightgate Inn, Pale Stormcloak Camp.
Location data (hold, map position, editor ID) read from the Skyrim game files; details checked against community wiki articles and summarised in our own words.